The Chinese government announced this week that it would require manufacturers to embed censorship software into personal computers sold in the country by July 1st — a move that has caused some American computer manufacturers to panic.

The edict, issued by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, is part of an “online campaign against pornography.” But some are concerned that the Chinese government, already active in censoring websites such as Twitter, YouTube, and various news websites, will use the technology in stepping up online censorship. Even a poll on the People's Daily Online, a mouthpiece of the Communist Party, showed that about 84% of those asked felt that the plan violated privacy.

The head of Jinhui Computer System Engineering denied that the company's filtering software will be used for anything other than blocking lascivious material. But Jinhui's monopoly on the software, the software's blacklist of banned sites, the external maintenance of this list and the fact that the government has mandated its use all point to the government tightening its grip on information. Not to mention that freedom of the press and speech aren't exactly a burning priority of the Chinese government. Still, some feel that the mandatory filter regulation might not actually be enforced.

Meanwhile, American companies that do business in China are suffering crises — both of conscience and logistics — as they struggle to cope with the rule change. But if the lack of public outcry from computer makers over the ethical aspects of this issue is any indication, access to one of the world's largest markets means that values are really just an afterthought. Freedom may not be free, but censorship pays, too.

Always look out for amendment number one

In this era of globalization, where the effects of national laws can be felt halfway around the world, the computer industry, thankfully, is probably the only part of the United States to feel the effects of this regulation. Cynthia Wong, Plesser fellow and staff council at the Center for Democracy & Technology in Washington, D.C., says that although China has been exporting censorship technologies to some countries, the market for censorship technology here is different. “It would raise some serious first amendment constitutional issues,” she said.

Web filtering software is already widespread in the United States, but the rules governing its use are not like in China. The use of the software (at home, not work) is voluntary, and the user gets to pick which websites are “blacklisted”, not the government. “In the U.S. there is a much more robust market for filtering software,” Wong said. “People can choose the type of filtering they want – it does build some sort sense of accountability.” Did we mention that use was voluntary?

Just because parents in America have the option of sheltering their children, or employers in America can prevent workers from spending valuable company time on Facebook, doesn't mean Big Brother will come out of the cellar under the guise of getting innocent little Billy to stop checking out porn. Thanks to the Bill of Rights, web filtering programs should be nothing to fear. Unless, of course you're either a chronic YouTuber at work. Or a 13 year old boy.

“Protecting kids online,” Wong explained, “is something all countries are grappling with.”

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